Time Running Out to Participate in the 2017 Census of Agriculture

The National Ag Statistics Service wants to remind farmers and ranchers that the window is closing on the opportunity to participate in the 2017 Census of Agriculture. NASS has received more than 1.5 million completed questionnaires. However, the national return rate is currently lower than it was at this point in the 2012 Census.

NASS is asking U.S. producers who have not returned their completed Census questionnaires to please do so as soon as possible in order to avoid follow-up phone calls or in-person visits.

NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer says they’re very grateful for the responses they’ve received, but it’s important that the others who received a Census questionnaire join their neighbors, colleagues, friends, and family in being a part of the Census count. “If you produced and sold $1,000 or more of agricultural products in 2017, or normally would have produced and sold that much, we need to hear from you,” says Hamer. “If you’re a landowner who leases your land to a producer, we need to hear from you as well.”

The Census of Agriculture is the only comprehensive source of agriculture data for every state and county in the nation. The data is used by policymakers, trade associations, researchers, agribusinesses, and many others.